DEME Group’s offshore marine engineering devision GeoSea and Siemens have concluded an EPCI foundation contract for the Hohe See offshore wind farm. The new contract confirms Germany as a key market for the Belgian dredging, environmental and marine engineering group following its recent acquisition of the offshore assets and personnel from its former German partner Hochtief.

The Hohe See offshore wind farm (owned by EnBW) is situated approx. 90 km north of the island of Borkum in the German North Sea. The project will cover an area of around 40 square kilometres with water depths of up to 39 m. With a total installed capacity of 497 MW, the Hohe See wind farm is currently the biggest planned offshore wind project in Germany.

GeoSea’s EPCI contract includes the design, engineering, procurement, fabrication and installation of 71 foundations consisting of a monopole and transition piece.

DEME has a long track record in the German marine infrastructure market dating back from 1968 (through its subsidiary Nordsee Nassbagger und Tiefbau GMBH in Bremen) and was an early mover in the development of offshore wind in most of Europe.

Christopher Iwens, General Manager DEME’s German Subsidiaries says: “The conclusion of this contract is a great achievement and consolidates the company’s presence in Germany. The Hohe See offshore wind project preparatory phase will be taken care of by our specialist teams located in our new offices in Bremen. In May 2015, DEME acquired the offshore assets and personnel of its former German partner Hochtief Offshore Solutions. The company is continuing its large recruitment campaign.

After successful participation in a series of other offshore wind farms in Germany (Nordsee One, Godewind, EnBW Baltic II, Borkum Riffgrund ‘1’, Amrumbank, Alpha Ventus and Borkum West II), the Hohe See contract is an important demonstration of clients’ trust in GeoSea’s expertise based on a combination of high tech, know-how and entrepreneurship.